Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Hypnosis has been so effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome that British researchers recently tested its usefulness for chronic indigestion. More than 100 people at the Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, England, were assigned to receive 12 30-minute sessions of either hypnotherapy, supportive therapy and a placebo medication, or medication (rantidine twice a day) over 16 weeks.

Re "FDA Minimized Issue of Lotronex's Safety," Nov. 2: It is untrue that Glaxo Wellcome and the FDA have not taken seriously reports of adverse events among women who have taken Lotronex. Both Glaxo Wellcome and the FDA apply the world's highest standards in our efforts to make innovative medicines available. We both have independently scrutinized the benefits and risks and have concluded that, in appropriate patients, Lotronex has a demonstrated benefit in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, which can be severely incapacitating.

Novartis, Europe's third-biggest drug maker, needs to win U.S. approval for the experimental medicine Zometa to start turning around a 18% drop in shares this year, analysts and investors said. The Food and Drug Administration may rule today on the drug, designed to treat a life-threatening condition in which too much calcium enters the bloodstream. The U.S. agency has been reviewing additional data after last year deeming Zometa "approvable."

The next time your gut goes to pieces after a meal, it may turn out that fruit was the source of all that digestive distress. Doctors have long recognized that lactose intolerance--an ability to digest milk sugar--is responsible for some of the irritable bowel syndrome that plagues about 10% of all Americans.

Some users of the irritable-bowel treatment Zelnorm have suffered diarrhea so serious they require hospitalization, and four have died from an intestinal problem, the government said Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration emphasized that it had not proved a link between the intestinal condition, called ischemic colitis, and the drug. But the agency ordered that a precaution about the intestinal condition go on Zelnorm's label, along with a larger warning about severe diarrhea.

Government advisors heeded patients' pleas Tuesday that a drug for irritable bowel syndrome should be cleared for sale again--but with stringent restrictions to try to mitigate side effects that have hospitalized more than 160 people and killed seven.

Re "You know what makes me sick?" Opinion, May 27 As a practicing gastroenterologist and a board member of the Celiac Disease Foundation, I find it unfortunate that Heather Abel accuses physicians of pushing pills after being bought off by drug companies. The failure to diagnose celiac disease is because of symptoms (if any) that are typically subtle and nonspecific, not because of a conspiracy between physicians and drug companies. Abel says her irritable bowel syndrome was treated with Celebrex, which caused ulcers.

Peppermint is approved in Europe for treating colds, coughs, dyspepsia and liver conditions. In this country, the hardy perennial is often found in herbal remedies for stomach ailments and is sold as a dietary supplement. The herb's main ingredient is menthol, but it also contains flavonoids such as limonene. * Uses: Some herbalists recommend the herb or its oil for colds, coughs and headaches. It's also sometimes used to ease upset stomachs, irritable bowel syndrome and indigestion.

I receive a lot of ads in the mail for Flora Source, a probiotic. Will it do everything the ads claim? PEARL Wildomar The product: If our bodies ran by majority rule, we'd all be slaves to bacteria. By some estimates, the average digestive tract contains 750 trillion bacteria -- enough to outnumber the human cells in your entire body by about 7 to 1.

Almost everyone suffers from it at some time--that bloated feeling, or the kind of uncomfortable sensation that comes from overeating or indulging in too much greasy food. Sometimes it's accompanied by nausea and often it's over in a matter of hours. What everyone knows as indigestion has been treated light-heartedly in numerous television commercials. But chronic indigestion can be a far more serious signal of other digestive diseases, ranging from a peptic ulcer to irritable bowel syndrome.